No Rohingya settlement in CHT: Official

Bangladesh government has decided not to erect makeshift Rohingya settlements in three southeastern hill districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban considering their delicate ecological and socio-economic systems, officials said on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. The photo shows Rohingya children wait at a relief centre at the Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. File Photo: AFP

BSS, Dhaka

The government has decided not to erect makeshift Rohingya settlements in three southeastern hill districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban considering their delicate ecological and socio-economic systems, officials said.

"The government is sincerely in its efforts to save the hills in CHT . . . we will keep protected the hills from Rohingya influx," a senior official of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs ministry yesterday told a media briefing on the eve of the International Mountain Day to be observed on December 11.

CHT affairs ministry's additional secretary Kamal Uddin Talukder said the ministry kept a vigil against Rohingya intrusion in the hills considering its economic backwardness while it was also exposed to risks of climate change and migration.

The day, he said, is to be observed this year highlighting how climate, hunger and migration continued to affect highlands to ensure that sustainable while in Bangladesh a five-day programme would be held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital on December 7-11, showcasing the lifestyle, culture, history and tradition of hilly people.

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